A Borden, Ind., man is accused of killing a neighbor's dog and throwing it in the trash.

Neighbors told WLKY on Tuesday it's not uncommon to see pets up and down their street, but when one dog wandered into a man's yard, the homeowner said it started attacking his own animal, so he shot and killed it, and neighbors find that very shocking.

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"I can't believe somebody would do something like that. Why would they do that?" said neighbor Dennis Quinkert.

Quinkert said his dogs are a big part of his family.

He can't imagine what he would do if a neighbor killed one of his pets, put it in a trash bag and tossed it out without even telling anyone.

"Yeah, I'd be angry. You're limited to what you can do, but yeah, it's heartbreaking," said Quinkert.

That's exactly what prosecutors said Mitchell Thomas did in early May, when a lab mix from down the street escaped electric fencing and wound up at his home.

But there's another side to the story.

"He had his kids out and they got animals, too. They had cats, and he said the dog went after one of their cats in front of their kids. So you can understand both sides," said Quinkert.

But prosecutors said the shooting was not justified.

In this case, the dog was not believed to be threatening to hurt anyone or a pet.

Prosecutors said just because a neighbor's animal wanders onto someone's property doesn't give them the right to take its life, which is why the homeowner is now facing charges.

"It's bad for both parties," said Quinkert, who told WLKY he has seen that dog around before. "It was fairly friendly, I thought. It would run around. You could chase them off by saying 'Shoo' or whatever."

Others in the Borden neighborhood, like Kathy Johnson, said there's no excuse.

"I would want him to go to jail," said Johnson. "Unless the dog was attacking his kids, I don't see any excuse for what he's done."

The prosecutor said Thomas was expected to turn himself in Tuesday. His first court appearance will be at the end of the month.